Running from 31st July to 30th August, 10.30am to 4.30pm at Dunham Massey.
Families of the North. Your energy is needed to keep The Lost Carnival alive! Dunham Massey is joining forces with award-winning producers Wild Rumpus and So It Is (Bury Met, Head For The Hills – Ramsbottom Festival) to present an unforgettable family experience this summer to mark the incredible story of Dunham’s Lost Years and the controversial Victorian marriage of George Harry, 7th Earl of Stamford & Warrington, to the daring equestrienne performer Catharine Cox.
The Lost Carnival is a theatrical experience focusing on the tale of two rival Victorian carnival families which appears in a different locality and guise each year. For 2017, families will be able to step into another world and get a glimpse into backstage life as performers from The Lost Carnival rehearse at Dunham Massey under the invitation of Catharine Cox.
Explore behind the scenes in the gardens at Dunham Massey throughout the summer to help rehearse and prepare for the carnival and take part in a trail of beautiful installations filled with circus and theatrical challenges. Meet performers and help them keep balls in the air, hula hoops twirling, cartwheel continuously, prepare costumes and practice songs. Experience the wonder and illusions produced by a large scale zoetrope (one of the earliest animation techniques through a revolving, slitted drum). Discover more about the history of the carnival and write letters to the star-crossed lovers and heads of the rival carnivals Sergei Bird and Popou Ingenue to persuade them to meet at Dunham Massey.
Inside the house explore the remarkable real-life story of Catharine Cox and George Harry, who were shunned by the local Cheshire society for marrying between social classes.
Jessica Webb is Visitor Experience Manager at Dunham Massey
“We’re delighted to be working with Wild Rumpus in what promises to be an action packed summer of fantastic circus activities. We’ll also be telling the story inside the House of the glamorous Catharine Cox, Countess of Stamford & Warrington, who was believed to be a circus equestrienne before her marriage to the 7th Earl, and changed Dunham’s history forever”.
Rowan Hoban, Director, Wild Rumpus says
“We are thrilled to be working with the National Trust on this special trail and events for family audiences at Dunham. We can’t wait to see all the rehearsing and creating in the beautiful gardens as together we help save The Lost Carnival this summer.”
Welcome to the Carnival
Friday 28th & Saturday 29th July – 7-9pm – £14
Join the carnival as it gets dark in the gardens at Dunham Massey with two special evenings of delights – expect acrobatics, music, drinks and intrigue as the Lost Carnival performers set the scene.
TICKETS (Available from the last week of May)
Behind The Scenes of the Lost Carnival takes place in Dunham Massey garden from 10.30am – 4.30pm daily.
Images:
Catharine Cox, the circus equestrienne who married George Harry, 7th Earl of Stamford and Warrington by kind permission of Mrs Diana Williams.
The Lost Carnival images:
Discover the Lost Carnival at Dunham Massey c Wild Rumpus
Treading the tightrope with Wild Rumpus at Dunham Massey c Wild Rumpus
